English
Abdullah ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), “Which aspect of Islam is best?” He replied: “To feed others and to offer 1 the greeting of peace (salaam) to those you know and those you do not know.”
Possible references (unverified, pending editorial review)
- Candidate: Sahih al-Bukhari 12 (unverified) 99% confidence
- Candidate: Sahih Muslim 39a (unverified) 98% confidence
Confidence and text similarity are not editorial verification.
Commentary and footnotes (2)
Note 1
(1) His statement: “offer the greeting of peace to those you know and those you do not know”: This generality is specific to Muslims; it is not permissible to initiate the greeting of salaam to a non-Muslim. Likewise, it excludes the transgressor (fasiq) if harm is implied; otherwise, it is not disliked. As stated in Ad-Durr al-Mukhtar and Radd al-Muhtar.
Note 1
(۱) قوله: تقرئ السلام على من عرفت ومن لم تعرف وهذا التعميم مخصوص بالمسلمين، فلا يسلم ابتداءا على كافر، وكذا يخص منه الفاسق أي لو معنا، وإلا فلا يكره التقطته من الدر المختار» و«رد المحتار».